Battalion’s McCollum named Boston Pizza OHL Player of the Week

By League Press Release

January 28th, 2009

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that goaltender Thomas McCollum of the Brampton Battalion is the Boston Pizza OHL Player of the Week for the week ending January 25. McCollum won all three games between the pipes including two shutout wins and posted a goals-against-average of .980 with a save percentage of .964.

McCollum and the Battalion took to the road last week beginning Thursday night in Saginaw to face the Spirit. McCollum stopped all 23 shots he faced and was named the first star of the game by snapping the Spirit’s three-game winning streak with the 3-0 win. On Saturday McCollum carried a shutout into the third period in Plymouth before the Whalers bounced back with three goals to tie the game. The Battalion won 4-3 in overtime with McCollum making 33 saves including 18 in the third period. His week would end Sunday with a 24 save shutout performance in a 6-0 win at home over the Kitchener Rangers. McCollum was named second star of the game with his fifth shutout of the season and the seventh win in a row for the Battalion.

McCollum, a 19-year-old from Sanborn, New York, is in his third OHL season and was acquired by the Battalion at the trade deadline from the Guelph Storm. Since joining the Troops, McCollum has a 6-1-0-0 record. McCollum, a first round pick of the kstyle” id=”HFlink” href=”/teams/detroit_red_wings”>Detroit Red Wings, 30th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, is second amongst OHL goaltenders with a goals-against-average of 2.13 and has the second best save percentage with a mark of .927. He will represent the Battalion and the Eastern Conference at the 2009 Subway OHL All-Star Classic February 4, 2009 in Windsor, ON.

The top skaters this week in the OHL considered for this award include a pair of London Knights John Tavares and Philip McRae. Tavares scored four goals and four assists for eight points while McRae had four goals and three assists for seven points, both in four games played. Both had three-point games last Monday afternoon in a 4-2 win over the Plymouth Whalers. Chris Terry of the Plymouth Whalers scored two goals and six assists for eight points in four games highlighted by a three-point game and second star performance in a 4-3 overtime loss to McCollum and the Battalion. Tavares, McRae, and Terry will all compete at the 2009 Subway OHL All-Star Classic on the Western Conference team.